Paul and the Faithfulness of God
Overview
This highly anticipated two-part fourth volume in N.T. Wright’s magisterial series, Christian Origins and the Question of God, is destined to become the standard reference point on the subject for all serious students of the Bible and theology. The mature summation of a lifetime’s study, this landmark volume pays a rich tribute to the breadth and depth of the apostle’s vision, and offers an unparalleled wealth of detailed insights into his life, times, and enduring impact.
Wright carefully explores the whole context of Paul’s thought and activity—Jewish, Greek, and Roman, cultural, philosophical, religious, and imperial—and shows how the apostle’s worldview and theology enabled him to engage with the many-sided complexities of first-century life that his churches were facing. Wright also provides close and illuminating readings of the letters and other primary sources, along with critical insights into the major twists and turns of exegetical and theological debate in the vast secondary literature. The result is a rounded and profoundly compelling account of the man who became the world’s first, and greatest, Christian theologian.
This volume is essential reading for anyone with a serious interest in Paul and his continuing relevance for today. Logos Bible Software dramatically improves the value of the collection by enabling you to find what you’re looking for with unparalleled speed and precision. The Logos edition is fully searchable and easily accessible. Scripture passages link directly to your preferred English translation and to the original language texts, and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of resources in your digital library.
Don’t forget to check out N.T. Wright’s latest volume in this series, Paul and His Recent Interpreters.
Product Details
- Title: Paul and the Faithfulness of God
- Author: N.T. Wright
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Publication Date: 2013
- Pages: 1,700
- Christian Group: Anglican
- Resource Type: Monographs
- Topic: Pauline Studies
About N.T. Wright
N.T. Wright is the former bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. He is now research professor of New Testament and early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of over 50 books, including the ‘For Everyone’ guides to the New Testament, the highly acclaimed series, Christian Origins and the Question of God, and the best-selling Simply Christian, Surprised by Hope, and Virtue Reborn.
Top Highlights
“The one God had acted suddenly, shockingly and unexpectedly—just as he had always said he would. And just as, again with hindsight, Paul could see made sense if this God really was righteous in his dealings with the whole world.” (Page 1411)
“Torah had, all along, been the divinely appointed means of tricking ‘sin’, luring it to come and do its worst so that it might be condemned at that point, much as ‘the rulers of this age’ had been tricked into crucifying the lord of glory and so signing their own death-warrants.” (Page 899)
“And those messianic events, as far as Paul was concerned, meant the same thing for Peter and Barnabas and the ‘certain persons’ who ‘came from James’ (2:12), if only they would realize it. Paul was not projecting his own ‘experience’. He was unpacking the meaning of the messianic events.” (Page 1425)
“What happened to Paul, personally and convulsively, was what through the Messiah’s death and resurrection had happened to the world as a whole, as he says in Galatians 6:14, and more specifically to Israel as a whole, resulting in the mission to the nations. God’s Israel-purpose was fulfilled, and was transformed in fulfilment. Paul believed that this transformation, and this fulfilment, had been effected in him and was being effected through him. And all this happened through the revelation of Jesus on the road to Damascus.” (Page 1426)
“This theme is closely joined in scripture with two others, both very germane to Romans. First, the dwelling of yhwh with his people; second, the transformation of the heart.” (Page 888)
- Title: Paul and the Faithfulness of God
- Author: N. T. Wright
- Series: Christian Origins and the Question of God
- Volume: 4
- Publisher: Fortress Press
- Print Publication Date: 2013
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Paul, the Apostle, Saint
- Resource ID: LLS:PLFTHFLNSSGD
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:37:48Z
Nicholas Thomas “Tom” Wright (1948–) is a New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian, and Anglican bishop and currently Research Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christianity at St. Mary's College in the University of St Andrews and Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. Christianity Today named him one of today's top theologians.
Wright was born in Morpeth, Northumberland, and recounts an awareness of God's presence from a young age—and that relationship with God ever since is reflected in his life and work. He's a prolific author; one of his most popular books, Surprised by Hope, frames the resurrection of the dead as the appropriate hope for all believers rather than an overemphasis on just "going to heaven when you die." He's among the leading theologians in the New Perspective on Paul debate. Wright has several honorary doctoral degrees, and in 2014, the British Academy awarded him the Burkitt Medal "in recognition of special service to biblical studies." In 2015, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Wright served as chaplain at Cambridge from 1978 to 1981, then as assistant professor of New Testament language and literature at McGill University in Montreal. Before becoming a chaplain, tutor, lecturer, and fellow at Oxford in 1986, Wright served as dean of Lichfield Cathedral, canon theologian of Westminster Abbey, and the bishop of Durham from 2003–10. In addition to the entire New Testament for Everyone Series, some of N. T. Wright's books include The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians, Who Was Jesus, The New Testament and the People of God, God and the Pandemic, Evil and the Justice of God, Surprised by Hope, and Simply Christian. He coauthored Jesus the Final Days with Craig A. Evans.
Reviews
4 ratings
Joshua Tan
11/5/2021
Prophet_kevin
4/1/2016
Glenn Crouch
4/17/2015
I must say I very much enjoyed this book. Once again Tom Wright has given me much to think about, and even when I don't agree (or perhaps not totally agree) with him, I do appreciate his argument. I would argue, that though this is a massive work (over 1500 pages), I do believe you should read the 3 previous volumes in Wright's Christian Origins and the People of God. I've now read them (and this is my first reading) back-to-back, and believe I have benefited greatly from this exercise. Paul in many academic / scholarly works has always seemed very 2 dimensional - often portrayed as having only one purpose or one style - and I've always found these very wanting when compared to the Paul of the New Testament. Wright however presents a very 3 dimensional Paul - a Paul who seems very real whilst at the same time very much being the Paul of the New Testament. Paul comes across as being very Jewish (in the Second Temple / 1st Century understanding of that) and very Messiah-oriented - that is, Paul saw Jesus as the Messiah that Israel had been waiting for, as the fulfilment of everything that the God of Israel had planned and announced in Scripture. Wright places Paul firmly in the world of 1st Century Rome, with good comparisons with Greek thought and understanding. Of course, this book is not written as an Evangelical commentary on Paul - rather, like the previous volumes, Wright writes as a Historian, as a scholar to other scholars. Whilst I would've enjoyed a section looking at the Pastoral Epistles, I do understand why he doesn't given this context. And as a scholarly work, this has extensive footnotes and impressive references and indices. Very worthwhile read!
Bill Shewmaker
1/31/2015
